Belton High School Band Faculty

Shannon Gill

Shannon Gill is the Director of Bands at Belton High School in Belton, Texas. She is the conductor of the Belton HS Wind Ensemble and Marching Hundred. Mrs. Gill was previously Head Director at Grapevine High School for 5 years. She served 1 year as an Assistant at GHS, and the 12 years before she arrived in North Texas, she served as an Assistant Director in the Round Rock, Georgetown, and Austin area at McNeil HS, Georgetown HS, and Anderson HS. Mrs. Gill also was an adjunct percussion instructor at Southwestern University in Georgetown for 3 years.

Mrs. Gill grew up in New Braunfels, TX and received her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Music Education from Texas State University in San Marcos, TX.. She received her Principal Certification from the Region 13 Educational Service Center in Austin, TX

Mrs. Gill's marching,concert, and percussion ensembles have consistently received Superior division ratings at UIL, NTCA, and other various marching and concert contests. As a director of the Anderson High School Marching Band, she helped in qualifying, for the first time in school history, for the 2010 UIL State Marching Contest. The following year, 2011, the band qualified for finals at the BOA Super Regional Championship Contest in San Antonio. Another first for the band. Her concert percussion ensembles have qualified for TX State Solo/Ensemble contest and received consistent superior ratings. Her winter marching ensembles have earned much distinction as well, with the Anderson HS Indoor Drumline taking Grand Champion at the 2008 NTCA Championships in Ft.Worth, TX.

Kevin Kwaku

Kevin Kwaku is an assistant director for the Belton High School band program. His responsibilities include assisting with the direction of the Marching Hundred, conducting the Symphonic 2 ensemble, and overseeing the jazz program. Prior to arriving to Belton, Mr. Kwaku spent two years as an assistant director at J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas.

Mr. Kwaku attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Studies and studied trumpet with Ray Sasaki, music education with Bob Duke and Amy Simmons, and conducting with Scott Hanna, Ryan Kelly and Jerry Junkin. He was a performing member of the UT Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, and Symphony Orchestra. He was also a member of the Longhorn Band, spending three years as a trumpet section leader and his final year of college as the drum major. After graduating, he has spent his summers working for the university as a coordinator for the Longhorn Music Camp.

Mr. Kwaku was a member of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps in 2013 and 2015, where he performed as a lead trumpet and soloist for both seasons and was named the Brass Performer of the Year in 2015. He now serves as a member of the Bluecoats brass staff, a role he began in November of 2018. Mr. Kwaku’s professional affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Kappa Kappa Psi.

Ian Smith

Mr. Smith is excited to be starting his first year at Belton High School as an assistant band director/percussion instructor, and is starting his 20th year teaching music in Texas. He received his music degree from LSU where he was a member of the symphony, wind ensemble, and was the drumline captain/staff arranger for the famed “Golden Band from Tigerland.” After college, he taught for two years at Westfield High School where his responsibilities included private lessons and assisting with the defending state champion Big Red Band percussion section. He then spent the next 14 years in Austin at McNeil High School where he conducted the concert band and instructed all aspects of percussion. His concert bands received multiple sweepstakes and the percussion section received many best in class awards during his time there. He spent the past 4 years teaching at Wells Middle School where he conducted bands and taught all of the brass and percussion. In the summers, he works as a clinician for N8 Rhythm and Percussion One for schools all over the state. In his spare time he enjoys composing and has music published with Rowloff Productions

Chris Kreger

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Assistant Director

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Chris Kreger is an assistant director for the Belton High School band program. His responsibilities include conducting the Symphonic Band, the Jazz Ensemble 2, and to assist teaching the Marching Hundred. Mr. Kreger is in his first year of teaching and is incredibly excited to begin his band directing career at Belton High School.

Mr. Kreger received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston where he studied music education with John Benzer and Dr. Cory Meals and saxophone with Dan Gelok and Dr. Woody Witt. While attending the Moores School of Music he was a member of the U of H Saxophone Quartet, the Wind Ensemble, and lead saxophonist for the Jazz Orchestra. While performing in the Jazz Orchestra he performed alongside artists including Eric Marienthal, Bill Evans, William Kennedy, and Dominick Farinacci.

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Cody Hudnall

Mr. Hudnall was born and raised in Nacogdoches, Texas. He studied dance performance and choreography at Stephen F Austin State University, achieving one of his major goals by graduating from his hometown university. He has performed lead roles in multiple ballets, such as Sleeping Beauty and Firebird. He performed with Bluecoats as a color guard member and Black Gold winter guard as a dance soloist. He has danced at Alvin Ailey, Steps On Broadway, and many other reputable dance schools across the country. Mr. Hudnall has been the color guard director at Trinity HS, Corsicana HS, Navarro College, and Robert E Lee HS. He has also choreographed for 19 other color/winter guards including junior high, high school, and independent groups. His next major goal is to develop a color guard program that will be nationally competitive. He is extremely excited about joining the Marching 100 team and looks forward to a great first year!